Sunday, September 14, 2014

Crews suspect plane crash after reports of explosions, but discover blasts were planned

WASATCH COUNTY, Utah – Search and rescue crews from Utah and Wasatch counties responded to the Cascade Springs area Sunday after several concerned individuals reported hearing explosions.

Officials were uncertain what was going on and suspected there might be a plane crash, but when crews arrived in the area they found the explosions were part of a planned effort.

Kathy Jo Pollock of the U.S. Forest Service said rangers were carrying out planned explosions in the Cascade Springs area as part of an effort to make new trails and renovate existing trails. The explosives were being used to clear away rocks, trees and other obstacles.

Several people at Deer Creek Reservoir had called authorities after hearing the explosions, which prompted the search and rescue response from Utah and Wasatch counties.

Pollock said personnel will be doing additional blasting in the area in the coming week.

Dispatch officials with Wasatch County said their agency had not been informed the blasting would be taking place.

Piper PA-28R-200, N1963T: Incident occurred September 14, 2014 at Zelienople Municipal Airport (KPJC), Pennsylvania

CONDOR AERO CLUB INC: http://registry.faa.gov/N1963T

http://www.condoraero.com

ZELIENOPLE (KDKA)- It was a rough landing for one pilot at the Zelienople Municipal Airport Sunday afternoon. 

 The plane was several minutes away from the airport when the pilot, Ross Edmondson, tried to deploy the landing gear. The instrument panel notified Edmondson and his passenger that one of the landing gears wouldn’t go down.

They called to the airport for help. The airport sent another plane in the air to check and see if the landing gear was in fact stuck.

The plane circled the airport for about an hour to burn off all the fuel in one of its tanks.

Edmondson was able to guide the plane down to the runway at 65 miles per hour and make a gentle landing on the belly of the plane.

He could have opted to land it on two of the three wheels, but Edmondson said that would be more dangerous.

“There’s more chance for the aircraft to veer off course and for damage to occur, and more importantly, for people to get injured. Together, with the people on the ground, we decided to leave all the landing gear up and just come to a gentle landing on the belly,” he said.

The single-engine 1971 Piper Arrow gently touched down and stopped shortly after hitting the runway. Neither Edmondson or his passenger, a student pilot, were hurt.

Edmondson says he has flown with a partial engine failure before, but never had to deal without landing gear. He says practice makes perfect.

“Yeah, i feel perfectly calm, glad it worked out well.  It’s the kind of emergency you practice for and train for, and it’s nice that it all works out the right way in reality,” said Edmondson.

The plane was loaded on to a truck and towed away for inspection.

The plane is shared by the members of the Condor Aero Club at Zelienople Municipal Airport. The club shares six planes among the 100 members.

http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com


 






FRANKLIN TWP. -- A Piper Arrow II aircraft safely executed an emergency landing Sunday afternoon at the Zelienople Municipal Airport.

Pilot Ross Edmondson, 33, of Sewickley landed his plane just before 6 p.m. without any major consequences after he recognized his landing gear wasn't functioning properly.

"We found out there was a problem when we tried to put our landing gear down, so I radioed my club members that were here on the ground," Edmondson said. "They sent up another aircraft to fly information and inspect (the landing gear), but in the end we couldn't get it down."

Edmondson is a member of the airport's Condor Aero Club and has 10 years of flying experience, including 1,150 hours of flight time under his belt. He said situations like having to land without proper landing gear are something all pilots train for.

"It's very unusual, but you do a lot of training for the unlikely eventualities, so there wasn't any concern or panic," he said. "We already knew what we had to do."

The club called local emergency responders and authorities to the scene while the plane was still in flight, but Edmondson and a female passenger were not injured in the landing.

Story and Photo:  http://m.timesonline.com


Hope for safety rating lift -India


New Delhi, Sept. 14: Officials of U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are expected to review the steps taken by India to improve flight safety.

The FAA had downgraded the country’s aviation safety rating to Category 2 in January after the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) failed to resolve the concerns flagged off by the US agency.

“We would like India to be Category 1 as soon as possible. We invited them (the FAA) to visit the DGCA for a review in September or October, when our team went to the US and made a presentation to them last month,” civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said while highlighting the ministry’s achievements in the past 100 days.

He said the FAA team would be visiting India and “I am sure India will return to Category 1”.

The FAA had done two safety audits and had found deficiencies on over 30 counts.

One such area is the lack of a technical manpower such as flight inspectors, a large number of whom have now been recruited.

On the regulator serving show-cause notices to 131 pilots of Jet Airways for not clearing the necessary tests, the minister said the DGCA would not compromise on safety.

“There can be no compromise on safety. The DGCA is expected to act according to the law and they are doing it,” he said.

On aviation bodies such as Air India, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority working without officials at the top, Raju said, “We are taking care that the work does not suffer. But there is a procedure through which such vacancies are filled up and that is being followed.”

While Air India chairman and managing director Rohit Nandan is on a three-month extension that ends in October, the post of the AAI chairman is now occupied by board member S. Raheja till a fulltime chief is appointed.

On Air India’s financial position, Raju said the state-run airline had shown “major improvements” in its load factors and yields.

“The government has released Rs 3,833 crore in the first quarter of 2014-15 against the total allocation of Rs 6,600 crore for the entire financial year,” he said.

The minister said the government had no plans to bail out any loss making airline, though it was holding discussions with various state governments to lower the taxes on aviation turbine fuel (ATF).

“This is not a sector that is entitled to subsidies. The government is not involved in any bailout package. Let us be very clear about that. Airlines are entitled to ask anybody to give them a cheaper loan. The government is not coming in the way of that.

“The second part is about highly taxed items such as ATF. We have been requesting state governments to come down. Fuel forms a substantial cost of an airline. It is a highly taxed item. Some states have responded. Very few till now. We hope more will come on board,” Raju said. 


- Source:  http://www.telegraphindia.com

Man's love of flight a lifelong passion

Dee Callicoat learned to fly in a J-3 Cub, and flight became a passion which lasted 50 years. 
 Clyde Beal,  The Herald-Dispatch 
~


This is a story about a pilot who learned to fly in a World War II single-engine J-3 Cub. Flying lessons during those early days were $5 an hour, which included the airplane rental, fuel and the instructor. It was a time when flying was simple, mostly unregulated, and -- according to Dee Callicoat -- a great deal less complicated.

"Back in the early 1970s I lived in Ohio, directly across from Newlon Air Field which is located up the Ohio River Road," Callicoat said. "Just about every day after work, I would row a small boat across the river and go fly with friends. We would skim along the Ohio River and fly at treetop level. One of my flying pals got reported once for flying too low, and the FAA took his license for six months."

Over the years, Callicoat has built, restored and traded for a total of 23 airplanes. Each one has provided him with a view that only a flier is privileged to share. Many of his past favorite airplanes hang in framed pictures showing a much younger aviator with darker colored hair. There are also photos of antique cars he has let slip through his hands, but his favorite still remains -- a restored red 1950 Ford convertible that goes out when the weather permits.

Callicoat was born in a one-story log home in Scottown, Ohio, in 1928. The family quickly relocated to Crown City, Ohio, where he lived until his teenage years.

"The Depression years were hard on everyone," Callicoat said. "People were doing anything to make a few dollars. When I was in grade school, I would catch catfish, perch, carp, and an occasional jack salmon from the Ohio River. I would sell them for 20 cents a pound cleaned and ready to fry or 15 cents a pound for the complete fish. Dad was a carpenter when work was available. During the fall he would butcher hogs for other families earning a little extra money. We would trap muskrat and mink which we sold to a local fur trader in Crown City. He paid $5 for a muskrat and $15 for a mink."

Callicoat said that the Ohio River would provide for those with a watchful eye. This was especially true when the water was high and swift.

"When the 1937 flood came, the water was two inches over the hearth in the front room," Callicoat said. "When the water was high, dad and I would go out on the river and find boats that had broken loose from docks miles upstream. We also found live chickens, lumber, barrels of pickles -- even cans of lard."

Callicoat worked as a clerk in the Crown City Grocery during his high school days making 50 cents an hour. This was the same amount he made working in tobacco fields during the growing season.

In April of 1944, 16-year-old Callicoat left home and found work as a deckhand on an Ashland Oil riverboat. The freedom of this adventurous lifestyle was soon saturated with guilt because his brothers had all served in the armed forces. He began thinking if Ashland Oil believed he was 18, then maybe the United States Air Force would too.

"It was the Air Force that held the promise of flying," Callicoat said. "So I left Ashland Oil and enlisted in the Air Force without so much as a single glitch about my age. But where the heartache came from was after I had already enlisted. I was told that I was going to be transferred to the Army because there was no current demand for flying positions in the Air Force."

One day Callicoat was an Airman Basic, the next he was a PFC attending boot camp at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. After that he was sent to Fort Lewis in Washington to await overseas transfer to Frankfort, Germany.

"While waiting on orders one morning in a group formation, the sergeant in charge asked if anyone could type," Callicoat said. "He said there was a need for a company clerk. I told the sergeant that I had typing in high school. I was told to go pack for another assignment."

Two days later, Callicoat arrived in Washington, D.C., for an assignment that lasted the remainder of his career. He figured he was going to be a clerk typist, but he never thought for a minute he would be assigned to an office job at the Pentagon.

"For nearly two years, I worked in that maze of crowded hallways and staircases within the Pentagon," Callicoat said. "I even became accustomed to passing well-known personalities on a daily basis. People like General Wainwright, General Patton and even General Eisenhower."

After an honorable discharge, Callicoat returned home and signed up for the "52 / 20" Program. Sponsored by the Federal Government, it provided returning veterans $20 a week for one year.

"I went to work for Huntington Heating and Supply," Callicoat said. "I became a sheet metal apprentice fabricating heating and air-conditioning ducts. After a few years, I opened up my own business -- Callicoat Heating and Air Conditioning. For a while I taught sheet metal fabrication classes at the vo-tech center in Getaway, Ohio. I later formed an engineering consulting firm in 1980 that covered the entire East Coast."

Shortly after his discharge, he began flying lessons at a small airport in Gallipolis, Ohio, paying $5 an hour. He soloed in 1952 and bought his first airplane -- a 1941 single engine PT-19 Fairchild surplus Army Trainer -- for $650.

"I've had a love affair with the airplane for over 60 years," Callicoat said. "In over 50 years of flying, I've had one accident that I was able to walk away from."

The accident Callicoat referred to involved an L16-A single-engine plane that simply quit on takeoff. He managed to get the plane back on the ground with minimal engine and structural damage.

It's been a few years now since Callicoat has felt the excitement of heading off into the wind. He says it isn't the same as it used to be. But he still misses it -- it shows with all those airplane pictures.

Nowadays when the sky is clear, he gets behind the controls of another classic, his pristine 1950 red Ford convertible.


- Source:  http://www.herald-dispatch.com

Health officials warn of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (KSEA) measles exposure

SEATAC, Wash. (AP) - Public health officials are warning that people may have been exposed to measles at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

In a news release, Public Health-Seattle & King County officials say a passenger who contracted a confirmed case of the disease - likely outside the United States - was contagious when he or she was at the airport. The passenger was at the north satellite terminal, on the inter-terminal train and at baggage claim between 8:10 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. on Sept. 6.

The traveler also went to The Bistro, a restaurant at the Courtyard Seattle Federal Way hotel that night.

Officials say most people have been vaccinated for measles or have had measles previously. But if not, and if they may have been exposed at those locations, the most likely time they would become sick is between Sept. 13 and 27.

Possible patients are asked to call a doctor if they develop an illness or fever with unexplained rash. To avoid exposing others they should not go to a clinic or hospital without calling first.

People at highest risk are those who are unvaccinated, pregnant women, infants under 6 months old and those with weakened immune systems.

Story and Comments:  http://www.komonews.com

Don’t fly an aircraft if you are not on the manifest -Nigeria

The issue of plane crash is becoming a global concern since recent crashes across the world, and what that means is that passengers would have to become more careful for their safety and protection of their families against the unknown.

So, the common practice of flying aircraft both locally and internationally without being manifested or on another person’s ticket or as guest to owners of private jets would mean you are not only endangering your life, but also you have denied your family and dependents what they could receive as insurance compensation in the event of crash.

Sunny Adeda, an insurance aviation expert and managing director, Alpha Choice Insurance Brokers, said these are some of the reasons some passengers lose their claims when there is plane crash.

Domestic flights in Nigeria pay passenger liability for death a whopping sum of $100,000 and international flights pay $75,000.

Adeda said passenger and passenger baggage legal liability insurance is the type of cover effected by an air operator or airline to protect itself against any sum or sums which they would be liable to pay in respect of any accidental bodily injury/death/loss of baggage to any person being a passenger and holding a ticket.

These liabilities apply when the person is entering into, is being carried in or is alighting from the aircraft. The insurer indemnifies the insured against all sums he is legally liable to pay whether according to international law or local legislation. Subject to a maximum limit of liability agreed at inception of the policy.

In the event of an accident or a crash, the passenger or relative should immediately notify the airline who in turn will inform the insurance company. Here the passenger manifest together with the nationalities of the passengers, specimen air ticket, passenger flight coupons, names of injured passengers, medical report in case of bodily injury/ hospitals where they are treated, copies of any correspondence with the next of kin or passenger legal representative, death/burial certificate, name and addresses of the next of kin and the passengers and submitted to the insurance company for processing of claims.

Flying on an international flight, passengers are advised to read the section relating to advice to international passengers on limitation of liability. A typical ticket will contain the following notice:

“Passengers on a journey involving an ultimate destination or a stop in a country other than the country of origin are advised that the provisions of a treaty known as the Warsaw Convention may be applicable to the entire journey including any portion entirely within the country of origin or destination.

“Liability for death of or personal injury to passengers is limited in most cases to proven damages not to exceed US$75,000 (inclusive of legal fees) per passenger and that this liability up to the limit shall not depend on negligence on the part of the carrier. Passenger are advised to read the notice of baggage liability limitations on their tickets.”

A typical section of the notice will be: “Liability for loss, delay or damage to baggage is limited unless a higher value is declared in advance and additional charges are paid.

For most international travel (including domestic portions of international journeys) the liability limit is approximately $20 per kilo for checked baggage and $400 per passenger for unchecked baggage.

“But for travels wholly between US points federal rules require any limit on an airlines baggage liability to be at least US$ 1250 per passenger excess valuation may not be included. Some carriers assume no liability for fragile, valuable or perishable.”


- Source:  http://businessdayonline.com

McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C Hornet, US Navy: Fatal accident occurred September 12, 2014 in the Pacific Ocean

 

 In Memory of Nathan Poloski:  gofundme.com/eilsnc


 Lt. Nathan Poloski



LAKE ARROWHEAD: Memorial account started for pilot 

Contributions in Lt. Nathan Poloski’s name can be made at gofundme.com

A fundraising account has been set up to aid the family of Naval pilot Lt. Nathan Poloski and possibly start a non-profit in his name.

Poloski, 26, who spent part of his childhood in Lake Arrowhead, was presumed dead following a midair collision Friday, Sept. 12 between two jets in the far western Pacific Ocean.

The account is at gofundme.com/eilsnc. It can also be found by searching for Poloski's name at gofundme.com. The account will raise money for the family and possibly establish a nonprofit around the theme of “Living Your Dreams,” said Rebekah Clements, whose brother is married to Poloski’s sister, an Austin, Texas resident, in an email.
The family started the account in response to an outpouring of requests from friends from many different cities where Poloski had lived asking what they can do or where to send flowers, Clements said.

 LEMOORE, Calif. (AP) - A Navy fighter pilot presumed dead after two jets crashed in the far western Pacific Ocean has been identified. 
  The Navy said Sunday that the pilot was Lt. Nathan Poloski, a 26-year-old native of Lake Arrowhead.

He was the subject of a 36-hour search in the waters off the U.S. territory of Wake Island after two F/A-18C Hornets collided in midair Friday. The other pilot safely ejected, was rescued from the ocean by helicopter and was treated and released from medical facilities aboard the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson.

The pilots and their squadron were from Carrier Air Wing 17 based at Naval Air Station Lemoore in California's San Joaquin Valley.

Poloski was a 2009 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy.

The cause of the collision was under investigation.


- Source:  http://www.waow.com

Photo courtesy of Nathan Poloski 
Prior to taking off, Lt. j.g. Nathan Poloski has a light moment. 
~

 Thursday, December 22, 2011 9:59 am 
By Mary-Justine Lanyon

Since he was 4 or 5 years old-when his parents took him to his first military air show-Nathan Poloski has been "fascinated by the speed, sound and what humankind can achieve with technology and training."

That experience led to his dream of being a pilot, but not just any pilot. Poloski said he wanted to be a Naval pilot "because there is one thing that separates us from any other pilot...landing on an aircraft carrier."

Each year, Poloski noted, only 250 pilots become carrier qualified. "I am fortunate to be a part of this exclusive community, which we refer to as the Tailhook community." He became carrier qualified in August on the USS Eisenhower.

The 2005 Rim High graduate received an appointment to Annapolis, graduating from the Naval Academy in 2009. From Maryland he went to Pensacola, Fla., for flight training.

"We started with a lot of survival training, including water survival," the lieutenant said. "Then we started flying single-engine planes."

Based on their performance and preference-and the needs of the Navy-the students then go to one of three advanced flight training programs: jet, helicopter or prop. Poloski was selected for jet training.

He completed that training in Kingsville, Texas, and was presented with his "Wings of Gold" on Oct. 21. That ceremony was attended by Chief of Naval Air Training Rear Admiral Bill Sizemore, who presented each of the eight aviators with his challenge coin.

After completing his training in Texas, Lt. j.g. Poloski was selected to go to MCAS Miramar, San Diego, where he is continuing to learn how to fly the F/A-18C, known as the Hornet.

After 12 to 18 months of training at Miramar, Poloski will be a proficient Naval fighter pilot, ready to carry out missions of support. He expects to be stationed on an aircraft carrier for six to eight months at a time when he is deployed.

As for his long-term plans, Poloski said he is required to give the Navy eight years of service after getting his wings. He anticipates becoming a flight school instructor, teaching new aviators to fly.

Poloski is the son of Miriam and Steve Kendrick of Lake Arrowhead and Thomas Poloski of San Diego.

"He's doing everything he set his mind to," his mother said.

Story and Photos:  http://www.mountain-news.com
Photo courtesy of Nathan Poloski 
 Naval aviator Nathan Poloski - training on an F/A-18C jet-the Hornet.

Unraveling the mystery when a plane falls from the sky

The Washington Post
By Ashley Halsey III
September 14 at 7:57 PM

Far beneath the rolling blue Indian Ocean, at a depth where sunlight turns a washed-out gray, very possibly sit 239 people still safely buckled in their seats, and a device about the size of a cantaloupe that could tell why they died.

Finding that melon-sized black box from missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 will take a near miracle, but if it is brought to the surface in a year or two — or, perhaps, three or four — there is a chance it will end up in a nondescript office building a few hundred yards off Independence Avenue in Washington.

There are only a handful of top-flight laboratories in the world that decode the mysteries of disaster, among them are one in Paris and another that’s two hours west of Berlin. But there is none better than that on the fifth floor at 490 L’Enfant Plaza SW, a building unadorned with any indication that it is home of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board. 

This is where some of the world’s most vexing aviation mysteries have been explored. Was TWA Flight 800 brought down by an explosion or a missile? Was the EgyptAir 990 crash a malfunction or the act of a suicidal pilot? What caused Alaska Airlines Flight 261 to roll belly up and plunge into the Pacific?

After every big airline disaster — most recently, the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 going down over Ukraine in July — the first quest of investigators is to recover the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder.

Sometimes, as with EgyptAir, they reveal everything. Other times, as with Alaska Air, they point the way. Rarely do they offer up no clue at all.

‘Little wake turbulence’

Last words from American Airlines Flight 587, Nov. 12, 2001. The plane hits turbulent wake from another aircraft after takeoff from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. As the pilot and first officer struggle to control the plane, the cockpit voice recorder captures this conversation:

“Little wake turbulence, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“Max power.” [Spoken in strained voice.]

“You all right?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Let’s go for power, please.”

“Holy ----.”

“What the hell are we into. We’re stuck in it.”

“Get out of it. Get out of it.”

The plane crashes into the Bell Harbor neighborhood in Queens, killing all 260 on board and five people on the ground.


Why called black boxes?

The black boxes aboard commercial jets are a marriage of two elements: a cockpit voice recorder and a flight data recorder. What the first records is obvious, but the second is required to collect a minimum of 88 data points, and most modern planes actually record hundreds or more than a thousand.

They spread through the plane like the capillaries in your body, tracking the plane’s performance on matters major and minuscule.

In the NTSB lab, bins filled with every type of black box in use are stacked in one corner, and they have one thing in common.

They’re not black. They are orange.

Joseph Kolly, director of the NTSB’s Office of Research and Engineering, explains that black box is a term of art engineers use to describe any electronic device that has an input and output. When the details of its inner workings are of little interest, they are considered “black” or “unknown.” Although experts actually do know how they work, that’s not as important as the inputs and outputs.

‘I rely on God’

Last words from EgyptAir Flight 990, Oct. 31, 1999. After the plane departs New York’s John F. Kennedy International for Cairo, cockpit crew members encounter unusual behavior from Gamil Al-Batouti, a reserve pilot on the flight. The cockpit voice recorder captures the following.

Batouti: “I rely on God.”

Batouti: “I rely on God.”

“What’s happening? What’s happening?

Batouti: “I rely on God.”

[Sound of numerous thumps and clinks continue for about 15 seconds. A high-low tone emergency warning sound goes off and continues to the end of the recording.]

Batouti: “I rely on God.”

“What’s happening, Gamil? What’s happening?”

“What is this? What is this? Did you shut [off] the engine?”

Batouti: “It’s shut.”

“Pull with me.”

“Pull with me.”

“Pull with me.”

The pilot pulls back on the controls in a futile attempt to right the plane. It crashes into the Atlantic about 60 miles south of Nantucket Island, killing the 217 people on board.

“The recorders were pretty critical to that crash,” Kolly said. “We saw a healthy aircraft being flown into the ocean, and the things we heard in the cockpit we interpreted as one of the flight crew engaging in an intentional act.”

Though an NTSB investigation usually takes a couple of years, the people in Kolly’s lab move fast. Their goal is to analyze data from the two recorders and get a report out to investigators at the crash site within 24 hours.

“We want to guide them when they’re there,” he said. “We want to say, ‘Focus on this. It sounds like it might be this. It looks like it might be that.’ ”

When the crew seems oblivious in the runup to a disaster, “We will immediately talk to our investigators in the field and say, ‘There are the questions that you need to ask that plane crew, while their memories are fresh.’ ”


‘They want to get in here’

Last words from United Airlines Flight 93, Sept. 11, 2001. Flying from Newark to San Francisco, the plane was hijacked. Ziad Jarrah, who had trained as a pilot, took control and turned the plane in the direction of Washington. The passengers, who had learned of other hijackings that morning from telephone calls with relatives, rebelled against their hijackers. This is an abridged portion of what the cockpit voice recorder captured. The italic portions were translated from Arabic.

“A fight?”

“Yeah?”

“They want to get in here. Hold. Hold from the inside. Hold from the inside. Hold.”

“There are some guys. All those guys.”

“Let’s get them.”

“Is that it? Shall we finish it off?”

“No. Not yet.”

“When they all come, we finish it off.”

“In the cockpit. If we don’t, we’ll die.”

“Is that it? I mean, shall we pull it down?”

“Yes, put it in it, and pull it down.”

“Down, down.”

“Pull it down. Pull it down.”

“No.”

“Allah is the greatest. Allah is the greatest.”

The plane crashes into a filed near Shanksville, Pa., killing all 44 people on board.

Work treated sacredly


The boxes can be whisked to Washington from anywhere in the world in a matter of hours aboard a government jet. Unless the box was damaged or destroyed by an uncontrolled fire — think of the World Trade Center — there’s plenty to work with, even if it has been submerged for years.

The lab has a drying oven to deal with water-soaked elements and microscopes to scan each memory card. The FDR cards store 25 hours of flight history. The VCR cards in the most modern black boxes record two hours of cockpit conversation.

Damaged cards usually can be repaired, or their chips moved to a new, functional memory board. If the VCR memory is intact, it heads into a secure room where few people ever gain entry.

Listening to the final words of pilots who are about to die is treated as a scared duty at the NTSB laboratory. For a major disaster, a handful of people are called together — a lab chief, someone from the airline (often a person who can identify the voices in the cockpit), a representative of the plane’s manufacturer and other key parties. They slip on headphones, sit before individual computer screens and begin to listen, not just to voices, but to every noise that was recorded.

No one is allowed to take a copy of the recording from the room. Notes are taken on color-coded slips of paper that are collected before anyone leaves the room. The NTSB will issue transcripts in its final report, but release of the audio by the agency is forbidden.

“If there ever was a leak, there are only about five people who have listened to this thing, so it has to be one of the five,” Kolly said.

The mystery of Flight 370

The airplane that disappeared in March — Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 — mesmerized world attention, and more than a little of the focus fell on the failure of its black box to provide more help in the search.

When planes go down in the ocean, a pinger attached to the black box sends out a signal that sounds like a grandfather clock ticking for about 30 days before its battery dies. Kolly wants to see the battery life extended, and he likes a new type of black box designed to break from the plane and float, sending out a signal, when a plane crashes.

The NTSB has scheduled a public forum in October to explore new ways of locating black boxes.

It’s not clear that any of those things would solve the mystery of Flight 370. There has been speculation that a cabin depressurization knocked the crew and passengers unconscious for most of their long detour somewhere into the Indian Ocean. Will just the last two hours of flight on the voice recorder provide enough to say what caused the crash? And if the plane had no problems other than depressurization, will it tell more than it was flying on auto pilot and ultimately ran out of fuel?

“There’s a high probability if they find it, it will be usable,” Kolly said. “Whether or not it contains usable information, we don’t know.”

Ashley Halsey reports on national and local transportation.


- Source:   http://www.washingtonpost.com

Police ask your help to find 13-year-old at-risk girl gone missing near Bakersfield Municipal Airport (L45), California

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - A young girl has gone missing in East Bakersfield and the Bakersfield Police Department are asking that you help them find her.

The juvenile is identified as 13-year-old Monica Romero, and according to the BPD, she was last seen on September 12, 2014, at approximately 7:30 a.m. in the area of Lotus Lane and Watts Drive; that's near the Bakersfield Municipal Airport.

Romero is identified as a Hispanic female, measuring five feet, three inches tall and weighing around 160 pounds. She was last seen wearing a grey and maroon shirt and dark jeans.

The BPD consider her as "at-risk" due to her age.

Anyone with information regarding her whereabouts is asked to call the Bakersfield Police Department at (661) 327 - 7111.

Story and Photo:  http://www.turnto23.com

Royal Canadian Air Force raided museum for search-and-rescue airplane parts

The Royal Canadian Air Force has quietly turned to an unusual source for spare parts to keep its venerable search-and-rescue airplanes flying: a museum.

The Citizen has learned that, in July 2012, air force technicians raided an old Hercules airplane that is on display at the National Air Force Museum of Canada because they needed navigational equipment for a similar aircraft still in use.

The revelation highlights the difficulties military personnel have increasingly faced in keeping Canada’s ancient search-and-rescue planes flying after more than a decade of government promises to buy replacements — with no end in sight.

The air force museum is on Canadian Forces Base Trenton and boasts a large collection of military aircraft that have been retired and subsequently placed on display.

Among them is an E-model C-130 Hercules transport aircraft that entered service in 1965 and was used in a variety of roles before being retired in 2010 and given to the museum the following year.

Museum curator Kevin Windsor said classified equipment is typically taken off the display aircraft, but otherwise the museum tries to keep the aircraft as close to operational as possible to give visitors an authentic experience.

It was during his Windsor’s second week on the job that the search-and-rescue squadron at CFB Trenton contacted the museum’s executive director, retired lieutenant-colonel Chris Colton, to see if they could go through the Hercules.

In particular, Windsor said, they were looking for two inertial navigation units that they could take from the museum’s airplane and install in one of their H-model Hercules, which range in age from 20 to 40 years.

“They sort of called (Colton) up and said ‘Hey, we have these two INUs that we can’t use. Do you have any on yours?’ ” Windsor said. “Some of the parts are interchangeable. They just kind of got lucky on that.”

The INUs work in conjunction with two GPS units to provide the Hercules’s main navigation system, RCAF Capt. Julie Brunet said in an email. “These high value and essential systems allow long non-stop flights to be able to provide better response time to any search-and-rescue mission.”

Once air force technicians confirmed the museum’s Hercules still had its navigational units, it only took about half an hour to get them out.

“They’re two boxes, maybe a little bit smaller than a computer printer,” Windsor said. “They’re not huge things. They just sort of popped the cords and away they went.”

Auditor General Michael Ferguson raised concerns last spring that the federal government’s search-and-rescue capabilities are in danger of crumbling, in part because the air force’s eight Hercules and six Buffaloes are on their last wings.

The airplanes are used to respond to thousands of emergencies across the country every year.

Defence Department officials were also told in a secret briefing last year that the military had been forced to “purchase spare parts from around the world” to ensure the “continued airworthiness” of the air force’s 47-year-old Buffalo airplanes.

Defence Minister Rob Nicholson’s office defended the air force’s decision to ask a museum for parts to keep its search-and-rescue planes flying.

“The RCAF took the initiative to remove these functional, perfectly good parts and use them effectively,” spokeswoman Johanna Quinney said in an email. “It was a sound decision, helping to ensure the long-term viability of the aircraft.”

But former head of military procurement Dan Ross said it’s “embarrassing” that the air force has to “cannibalize old stuff that’s in museums” to keep its planes flying.

And retired colonel Terry Chester, national president of the Air Force Association of Canada said it’s “indicative of a larger problem, which is maintaining a fleet of older aircraft and having to become increasingly creative in ways to make that happen.”

Officials were warned back in February 2012 that spending extra money to extend the lives of the Hercules still being used for search-and-rescue “is an evil necessity” because of delays in obtaining replacements, according to documents obtained by the Citizen.

Successive Liberal and Conservative governments have promised to replace the Hercules and Buffalos starting in 2002, but it remains unclear when new aircraft will actually materialize.

In 2005, the Defence Department was accused by some companies of rigging requirements for the new search-and-rescue airplane so that one specific aircraft, the Italian C-27J Spartan, would win. That prompted the new Conservative government to send the project back to the drawing board.

More recently, internal documents show, military officials had hoped to release a request for proposals from aerospace companies in early 2013, with new aircraft flying by 2017.

Instead, the Conservative government has ordered extensive consultations with industry as part of its revamped defence procurement strategy. While the government says this is essential for getting the purchase right, it has also pushed back the timeline yet again.

Public Works spokeswoman Annie Trepanier said in an email Friday that the government now hopes to release a request for proposals either later this year or in early 2015.

That would likely mean no replacement until at least 2018, during which time the Hercules and Buffalo will need to remain in service.

Story and Comments:   http://ottawacitizen.com

Van's RV-6, VH-TXF: Fatal accident occurred September 14, 2014 in Mudgee, New South Wales

The shock death of Newborough couple Terry and Bev Fisher, pictured here at an aviation awards dinner in 2011, has rocked the Latrobe Valley Aero Club.  



 
Terry Fisher, in a photo posted on Facebook in January.


Pakenham couple Bev and Terry Fisher in a photo posted by their daughter-in-law on Facebook.

The  Latrobe Valley aviation community is in a state of shock after the death of two of its long standing members in a light-plane crash in New South Wales yesterday. 

Newborough couple Terry and Bev Fisher, both in their sixties, died yesterday when their aircraft reportedly crashed near an airstrip in Mudgee, northwest of Sydney.

The circumstances behind the accident are still under investigation.

Latrobe Valley Aero Club president John Warren said the whole aero club community was "just completely devastated" by the news.

"We are all in shock, the club gives out our deepest condolences to the family through this tragedy," Mr Warren said.

Mr Warren said the Fisher couple had been active and much-loved members of the aero club, with Mr Fisher a member for the past 40 years.

"They were fantastic people, never an evil word came out of their mouth. They were always helping and participating in club activities," he said.

The Fisher's are understood to have crashed in a Van's RV-6 two-seater aircraft, which Mr Warren said Mr Fisher had built himself to "meticulous standards".

"This incident is certainly out of character for Terry - he has always been meticulous with his flight planning, his flying and the maintenance of his own aircraft," Mr Warren said.

"The Air Transport Safety Bureau will be investigating, the crash site was being locked down and guarded over night, there will be an autopsy inquiry and an air investigation, so until all that happens we won't know what happened."

Mr Warren said Mr Fisher flew his aircraft on a weekly basis, adding the couple would fly interstate six or eight times a year.  


- Source:  http://www.latrobevalleyexpress.com.au

Collision with terrain involving Vans RV-6 VH-TXF near Mudgee Airport NSW 

September 14, 2014

Investigation number: AO-2014-149
Investigation status: Active
Investigation in progress

The ATSB is investigating a fatal accident involving an amateur built Van’s RV-6 aircraft that occurred at Mudgee on 14 September. The two people on board the aircraft died in the accident.

The ATSB has deployed two investigators, with specialisations in human factors, engineering and aircraft operations. They are expected to arrive at the accident site midday Monday 15 September 2014. Over the next few days they will examine the wreckage and accident site, collect maintenance and pilot records, and interview witnesses. The investigators are seeking witness reports that might assist the investigation.

Any witnesses are requested to please contact the ATSB on 1800 020 616.

Source:  http://www.atsb.gov.au


 A VICTORIAN couple killed in a light plane crash near a New South Wales airport died “doing what they loved best”, their grieving family says. 

Experienced pilot Terry Fisher and his wife Bev, both aged in their 60s, were flying to Mudgee airport when their two-seater, single-engine plane came down just 200m from the runway about 11am Sunday.

The pair, from Newborough in the Latrobe Valley, died at the scene.

Air safety investigators will spend the next few days examining the crash site.

John Warren, president of Latrobe Valley Aero Club where Mr Fisher had been a member for more than 40 years and his wife a dedicated volunteer, said Mr Fisher was “meticulous with his flying” and the crash was “totally out of character”.

“He was meticulous with his aircraft maintenance,” Mr Warren told the Herald Sun.

“The club was just in shock. We’re devastated.”

Mr Warren said the Fishers had been flying to Mudgee from nearby Dubbo, where they had attended a meeting for the Sports Aircraft Association of Australia, of which Mr Fisher was president of the Latrobe Valley chapter.

“A few of them were going a bit further (into NSW) to see out the weekend,” Mr Warren said.

Three other planes travelling with the couple had landed safely just before the crash.

Mr Warren said the Fishers, who had children and grandchildren in Melbourne, were “dedicated to each other, to their family and to the aero club”.

“There was never a bad word coming out of either of their mouths,” Mr Warren said.

“Things like this shouldn’t happen to good people.”

The couple’s daughter-in-law, Tracy Fisher, said her family was “in shock” to “lose both Bev and Terry at the same time”.

“Devastated and heartbroken for my husband ... as his parents died in a plane crash,” she wrote in a tribute on Facebook.

In another post accompanied by a photo of the couple beaming in front of a light plane, Ms Fisher wrote: “Bev and Terry doing what they loved best ... Just can’t believe it!!”

Witnesses reported hearing “spluttering” noises before the engine cut out and the plane crashed into a wire fence in a paddock.

One witness, Grant Willetts, told Channel 7 the plane “just dropped like a rock, straight down”.

Paramedics tried to revive Mrs Fisher, but she died at the scene. Her husband was found dead inside the plane.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said two investigators arrived at midday yesterday to start gathering information and talking to witnesses.

Any witnesses are urged to call the ATSB’s hotline on 1800 020 616.


Story and Photo Gallery:  http://www.heraldsun.com.au

A Victorian couple involved in a light-plane crash in mid-west NSW died "doing what they loved best".


Bev and Terry Fisher, both in their 60s and from Pakenham, were heading north to Mudgee on Sunday when their two-seater plane crashed metres from the runway.

Their daughter-in-law Tracy Fisher posted a tribute to the couple on Facebook last night.

"Devastated and heartbroken for my husband today as his parents died in a plane crash," she wrote.

And in a second post, with a picture of the couple standing in front of a light plane: "Bev and Terry doing what they loved best. Just can't believe it!!".

Mr Fisher had 40 years' flying experience.

Witnesses told the Seven Network the plane's single engine was spluttering as it approached the runway.

"It just dropped, just like a rock, straight down," witness Grant Willetts said.

The pilots of another three planes traveling with the couple landed safely.

"This is tragic. Not only are the people they were traveling with ... devastated but it impacts on a lot of, lot of people," Detective Inspector Cameron Whiteside said.

The couple died at the scene.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has joined an investigation by police and specialist forensic officers.

A crime scene has been established.

Source: http://www.smh.com.au







Cessna 177B Cardinal, N34880: Accident occurred September 02, 2014 in Neihart, Montana

CHRISTOPHER J. WILSEY: http://registry.faa.gov/N34880


NTSB Identification: WPR14FA362 
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Tuesday, September 02, 2014 in Neihart, MT
Aircraft: CESSNA 177B, registration: N34880
Injuries: 1 Fatal,3 Serious.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

On September 2, 2014, about 1230 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 177B, N34880, impacted terrain about 5 miles southeast of Neihart, Montana. There were four soles on board; the private pilot and two passengers were seriously injured and one passenger was fatally injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage during the accident sequence and subsequent post impact fire. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight and no flight plan had been filed. The flight originated from Great Falls International Airport (GTF), Great Falls, Montana at about 1200.

The pilot reported to local law enforcement that he was flying in a valley when he observed rising terrain ahead. He attempted to climb over the ridge, but the airplane wouldn't climb. The pilot turned the airplane towards the valley when the airplane struck trees and descended to the ground.

The airplane has been recovered to a secure location for further examination.



Rachel "Ladybug" Lukasik



The scene outside the Little Chicago Club in Black Eagle on Sunday morning looked like a church picnic, except for the leather. 

A collection of folding tables bearing silent auction items stood on parking lot asphalt, attracting casual attention. Around 40 people, many with various amounts of gray hair, sat and stood in clumps, chatting. And, nearby, stood two neatly angled rows of parked motorcycles, awaiting their riders.

The occasion was a poker run and pool tournament to raise money benefiting Rachel “Ladybug” Lukasik, an 11-year-old girl badly injured in a fiery single-engine plane crash Sept. 2 near Showdown Ski Area in the Little Belt Mountains. It was organized by several Great Falls motorcycle clubs, including the Electric City Hermanos, in which Lukasik’s father, Rod “Senator” Lukasik, serves as president.

The crash also took the life of Susan Majerus, the girl’s grandmother and Rod Lukasik’s mother.

“He’s our brother and he’s our friend,” said Tyler “Gandhi” Long, the president of the Banditos. Lukasik, he said, is a single father who works as a a janitor for the Great Falls School District.

Rachel, he said, suffered burns over 40 percent of her body and is expected to be hospitalized for months. She was flown by Mercy Flight to a burn unit in Salt Lake City in the hours following the crash.

“She’s doing really good,” Long said. “She’s a fighter.”

All proceeds from Sunday’s event were going to Rachel’s cause, he said.

According to a Go Fund Me page seeking to help the Lukasiks, accessible at gofundme.com/e5k9ss, the girl and her grandparents had gone on a sightseeing trip the day after Labor Day when the crash occurred. While staying with his daughter in Salt Lake City, the page says, Lukasik will be away from work, causing the family to worry about losing their home or having their power disconnected as a result of unpaid bills.

As of early Sunday afternoon, the Go Fund Me page had raised $3,130 of its $10,000 goal.

Authorities have not yet released an official narrative or the results of a pending investigation into the cause of the crash, which occurred at the edge of the King’s Hill Winter Recreation Area parking lot a quarter-mile off of Highway 89 shortly after the single-engine Cessna Cardinal took of from Great Falls.

Long said that Majerus gave her life helping the girl escape from the wreckage.

Majerus was remembered in the days following her death for her work promoting the Monarch-Neihart History Foundation, which has been working to restore the 112-year-old Monarch Train Depot.

Another Hermanos-sponsored poker run in July raised money for the preservation effort, specifically a push to save a 1940s-era train caboose by moving it from Belt to the Monarch depot.

Majerus “was just the nicest gal,” said Codi “Baby Huey” Heikkila, a Hermanos member who works with Rod at the school district. When you saw her, he said, “she made sure you got a hug.”

Rod Lukasik is in a tough situation, he said. “Bury your mom one day, then go back to the hospital with your daughter.”

“He’s a single dad,” Heikkla also said. “He’s doing his best.”

Given the cost of Lukasik’s expected recovery, Long said another fundraiser is in the works for October. “It’s going to be an ongoing thing,” he said.


http://www.gofundme.com/e5k9ss

http://www.greatfallstribune.com


Piper PA-18-135, N959E: Incident occurred September 13, 2014 in Susitna, Alaska

NTSB Identification: ANC14CA079
Accident occurred Saturday, September 13, 2014 in Susitna, AK
Aircraft: PIPER PA 18-135, registration: N959E
NTSB investigators will use data provided by various entities, including, but not limited to, the Federal Aviation Administration and/or the operator, and will not travel in support of this investigation to prepare this aircraft accident report.

AIRCRAFT CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES

Flight Standards District Office: FAA Anchorage FSDO-03

http://www.asias.faa.gov/N959E

WESLEY E. SAUNDERS: http://registry.faa.gov/N959E

The Alaska Air National Guard rescued three people from the remote site of a plane crash north of Mount Susitna late Saturday. No injuries were reported.

At 1:30 p.m. Saturday, the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center was notified that an  emergency locator beacon had been activated  in the area of Beluga Mountain, according to a release from the Air National Guard.

The coordination center used beacon registration information to determine that the emergency signal was linked to a Piper Super Cub that had taken off from Anchorage on a trip to the Beluga Mountain area.

An Alaska Air National Guard HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter staffed by a team from the 212th Rescue Squadron from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson searched for the plane and quickly found the occupants 1.2 miles from the crash site. 

The three people were taken to an Anchorage hospital but were released “in good condition” with no injuries, according to the news release.

There’s no word yet as to what caused the plane to crash or the condition of the aircraft.

A call to the head of the  National Transportation Safety Board’s Anchorage office was not immediately returned Sunday.


- Source:  http://www.adn.com

Beechcraft 300LW Super King Air, LV-WLT: Accident occurred September 14, 2014 in Nordelta, Argentina

Quién era Gustavo Andrés Deutsch, el ex dueño de LAPA que murió en una tragedia aérea en Nordelta 



Gustavo Andrés Deutsch murió hoy luego de que la avioneta que piloteaba se estrellara en Nordelta. 
Foto: Gentileza: Apertura 


Quién era 'Andy' Deutsch, el ex titular de LAPA que murió en el accidente en Nordelta


Crédito: Infobae

Gustavo Andrés Deutsch fue dueño de LAPA (Líneas Aéreas Privadas Argentinas) hasta el año 2003, cuando la empresa quebró y dejó de existir tras el fatídico accidente que protagonizó la empresa el 31 de agosto de 1999. 

 Durante su gestión, Deutsch tuvo una particular manera de administrar la empresa: era su propio vocero y Ronnie Boyd, un ex Austral, era la única cara visible. Llegó a la aerolínea en 1984 y en 15 años logró tener el 30% del mercado argentino. Su apogeo fue entre 1994 y 1995 a base de bajas tarifas, reducción de costos sacrificando la calidad del servicio y en un ahorro obsesivo.

Durante gran parte de los 90, Deutsch tuvo muy buena relación con el presidente Carlos Menem, a tal punto que bautizó a un Boeing 757 Anillaco, el pueblo natal del riojano: "El presidente Menem me había desafiado a ponerle el nombre de su pueblo natal, y yo recogí el guante", declaró en su momento.

Pero el día que cambiaría su vida sería el 31 de agosto de 1999, a las 20:54. El vuelo 3142 de LAPA se estrelló en aeroparque cuando despegaba hacia la ciudad de Córdoba y como consecuencia murieron 65 personas y 17 resultaron heridas de gravedad.

Al momento del accidente, Deutsch estaba cenando con su mujer en la casa de unos amigos. Cuando se enteró, llamó inmediatamente a su agente de seguros en París y fue hacia Aeroparque a trabajar desde su oficina: "No niego nada, solo digo que no sé lo que pasó", fueron sus primeras declaraciones a la prensa.

Si bien la Junta de Investigaciones de Accidentes de Aviación Civil (JIAAC) había determinado que los pilotos tenían responsabilidad por olvidar configurar el avión correctamente para el despegue, la investigación penal se centró en probar que la organización de la empresa y la falta de controles por parte de las autoridades de las Fuerzas Armadas fueron factores causales del accidente. Se imputó a algunos de los máximos directicos de LAPA y a funcionarios de la FFAA, responsables de los controles.

La sentencia dictada el 2 de febrero de 2010 absolvió a todos los funcionarios de LAPA procesados con excepción de Valerio Francisco Diehl (Gerente de Operaciones) y Gabriel María Borsani (Jefe de Línea de Boeing 737-200), a quienes condenó a tres años de prisión en suspenso, por considerarlos penalmente responsables del delito de estrago culposo agravado.

http://www.infobae.com


El empresario de 78 años perdió la vida cuando la avioneta que él mismo manejaba se precipitó; estaba al frente de la aerolínea argentina cuando ocurrió la tragedia en Aeroparque, en 1999

or uno de esos caprichos del destino, el ex dueño de Líneas Aéreas Privadas Argentinas (LAPA), Gustavo Andrés Deutsch, murió esta tarde, a los 78 años, cuando cayó la avioneta que él mismo piloteaba en el barrio La Isla del complejo Nordelta.

"Andy" Deutsch, como era conocido, nació en 1936 en Praga, la capital de la entonces Checoslovaquia, y su familia decidió venir a la Argentina casi diez años después, hacia el final de la Segunda Guerra Mundial.

Su padre, Federico Deutsch, era dueño en Praga de la cadena de supermercados Te-ta, y, junto a otra familia checoslovaca, los Steuer, se propusieron traer el mismo modelo de negocios a la Argentina. Así nació la cadena Tía S.A., donde "Andy" se formó como un hombre de negocios, aunque luego llevaría esa experiencia hacia la industria aeronáutica.

Después de pasar ocho años en Estados Unidos, hacia donde había partido en 1975 después de un intento de secuestro a un ejecutivo de Casa Tía, en 1984, "Andy" Deutsch recibió la empresa LAPA, con apenas dos aviones Saab de treinta plazas que hacían la ruta a Colonia, como parte de pago en la venta de unos campos de su familia.

Para "Andy", que se había formado como piloto, fue como un "sueño": tenía su propia línea aérea. Su objetivo era transformarla en una de las líderes del mercado en el país. Lo logró. LAPA creció hasta tener más del 30% del mercado local, y su marca se expandió por la región. Con su imagen por las nubes, el empresario supo calificarse a sí mismo como el "el Saint-Exupéry argentino".

Su fórmula del éxito: el manejo personal de la empresa y las tarifas bajas. Sin embargo, el crecimiento de la aerolínea que parecía no encontrar freno terminó de la peor manera: fue el 31 de agosto de 1999, cuando un Boeing 737 de LAPA se despistó cuando salía de Aeroparque. Murieron 65 personas.

Desde entonces, la aerolínea comenzó su recorrido hacia la bancarrota, que se concretó finalmente en 2003, 26 años después de su nacimiento.

Actualmente, Deutsch era presidente de la empresa de aviación privada Tango Jet S.A.

Deutsch y el director general de LAPA al momento de la tragedia, Ronaldo Patricio Boyd, fueron absueltos en 2010 por el Tribunal Oral Federal 4 en la causa por "estrago doloso" por la muerte de las 65 personas por prescripción de la misma. La decisión fue confirmada en febrero de este año, pese a los reclamos de los familiares de las víctimas.

En el juicio resultaron condenados Valerio Francisco Diehl, ex gerente de operaciones de LAPA, y Gabriel María Borsani, ex jefe de la línea 737, a tres años de prisión en suspenso por el delito de estrago culposo agravado. En septiembre de 2012, la Corte Suprema dejó firmes estas dos únicas condenas.

- Source:  http://www.lanacion.com.ar

Translation:   The aircraft was piloted by Gustavo Andrés Deutsch, former head of the defunct airline, traveling with his wife. The plane was bound for Aeroparque.

Deutsch and his wife died today in the town of Nordelta product of the fall of the plane in which they were traveling.

The spokesman also said that the house on which the aircraft crashed was uninhabited at the time of the accident. The impact caused a fire on the neighboring property, where the occupants were able to exit without suffering injuries.

In the area of ​​the accident a credential associated with the plane was found, so after investigators determined the identity of the pilot was to Andy Deutsch, former head of LAPA:

Witnesses speculated that the accident aircraft as it tried to land on water moments before the crash heard unusual sounds coming from the engine of the plane.

The area is frequented by Tiger planes due to the proximity of San Fernando airfield. According to details provided by the investigators, the plane was bound Aeroparque, so its flight over Nordelta was not authorized.

In 2005, a civilian plane traveling in a flight instructor and his student crashed meters from a private home in Santa Maria neighborhood. That fact, which never causes were established because there was a notice from the ship to the control tower of an emergency, both crew members died.

Cayó una avioneta sobre una casa en Nordelta: murió el ex dueño de LAPA
 
La aeronave era piloteada por Gustavo Andrés Deutsch, ex titular de la desaparecida aerolínea, que viajaba junto a su esposa. La nave tenía como destino final Aeroparque

Deutsch y su esposa fallecieron hoy en la localidad de Nordelta producto de la caída de la avioneta en la que viajaban.

Los voceros afirmaron, además, que la casa sobre la que se precipitó la aeronave se encontraba deshabitada al momento del accidente. El impacto provocó un incendio en la propiedad vecina, donde los ocupantes pudieron salir sin sufrir heridas.

En la zona del accidente se encontró una credencial vinculada con la avioneta, por lo que investigadores determinaron luego que la identidad del piloto era la de Andy Deutsch, ex titular de LAPA:

Testigos del accidente especularon con que la aeronave intentó acuatizar ya que momentos antes de la caída escucharon sonidos poco comunes provenientes del motor de la avioneta.

La zona de Tigre es muy frecuentada por avionetas a causa de la cercanía del aeródromo de San Fernando. Según el detalle brindado por los investigadores, la avioneta tenía como destino Aeroparque, por lo que su vuelo sobre Nordelta no estaba autorizado.

En el año 2005, una avioneta civil en la que viajaban un instructor de vuelo y su alumno se estrelló a metros de una casa en el barrio privado Santa María. Por ese hecho, del que nunca se establecieron las causas, ya que no hubo desde la nave algún aviso a la torre de control de alguna emergencia, fallecieron ambos tripulantes.


- Source:  http://www.infobae.com

The private housing complex of Nordelta played host to a fiery crash today after a light aircraft came down in the neighborhood, killing the pilot and a second passenger.

According to authorities, the plane crashed in the La Isla zone of the development, located in the Buenos Aires district of Tigre. The cause of the crash is yet to be determined.

The craft collided with the roof a house and caught fire on top of a second unit. Firefighters are trying to control the blaze, while police forces from the Villa La Ñata municipality were also on the scene.